Silver Cross Earns 'A' for Patient Safety

Silver Cross Hospital has, once again, been recognized for its dedication to patient safety.

The facility received an A grade in the Spring 2016 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, accidents, injuries, and infections. The rating is one of the most meaningful honors a hospital can achieve, and serves as a valuable indicator for patients looking for a safe place to receive care.

Officials consider the Hospital Safety Score is the "gold standard." It is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog.

The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“At Silver Cross, we see it is part of our mission and commitment to deliver safe, high quality care,” said Paul Pawlak, President and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital. “Patients can rest assured when they come to Silver Cross, they are receiving care at a hospital that has higher survival rates, less complications, and a safe environment.”

Despite considerable improvement in the safety of hospital care since the Hospital Safety Score's launch in 2012, avoidable deaths remain too high. An analysis led by Matt Austin, Ph.D., of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at John Hopkins University, found that an estimated 33,439 lives could be saved each year if all hospitals had the same performance as those receiving an A grade.

“Avoidable deaths in hospitals should be the number one concern of our health care leaders. Hospitals, like Silver Cross, that earn an ‘A’ from Leapfrog are leaders in saving lives, and we commend them and urge their continued vigilance,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group.

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 30 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is calculated by top patient safety experts, peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. For the first time, the Hospital Safety Score includes five measures of patient-reported experience with the hospital as well as two of the most common infections, C.diff and MRSA. To see Silver Cross Hospital’s full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Surveycollects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. Hospital Safety Score, Leapfrog’s other main initiative; assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Silver Cross Hospital

Silver Cross Hospital is a not-for-profit health care provider serving Will County and southwest suburban communities since 1895. Silver Cross has been recognized as a Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals National Award winner for seven consecutive years, a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers and was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score SM by The Leapfrog Group. With nearly 4,000 employees, physicians and volunteers, Silver Cross operates a 296-bed acute care hospital and 5 satellite facilities providing outpatient services and physician offices. Silver Cross opened a state-of-the-art replacement hospital in 2012 at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox. In 2015, Silver Cross provided over $40 million in charity care and other community benefits. To learn more about Silver Cross Hospital or a referral to a physician on staff, visit www.silvercross.org or call 1-888-660-HEAL (4325). Physicians on Silver Cross Hospital’s Medical Staff have expertise in their areas of practice to meet the needs of patients seeking their care.

These physicians are independent practitioners on the Medical Staff and are not the agents or employees of Silver Cross Hospital. They treat patients based upon their independent medical judgment and they bill patients separately for their services.